Detroit Driving

It's hard to write another post after the sobering last post. But I guess what I can say, is that it puts life into perspective. So, this new post will be merely a story, remembering that, if money can fix it...it's really not a problem right? (a quote from my mother).
Wednesday was a typical day at work...not too busy this time of year and rather quiet. I happened to get done early with my patients and since the Doc doesn't see pts on Wed I headed home early. The snow is beginning to fall and I wanted to try to get home before the crazy 5 o'clock hour on the interstate. As I'm cruising down the interstate listening to the chronicles of Narnia my car kicks into a lower geer...and refuses to up shift. Though snow has slowed things down I'm still getting passed as I have to slow my car down to 50 mph on the interstate (speed limit is 65) I'm a little nervous about going against traffic but think, "just get home Bekah." Much to my dismay as I go over a hill I see a sea of red lights...Either there's an accident on 94 or just crazy traffic...but I'm stopping 3 miles before my exit to I-94. As I start up again, my car won't go, it's put itself in neutral and starting to roll backwards...I hit the break, calm myself and try again...it kicks into gear and jerks me a foot or two..but I have to stop again and it falls back into neutral...on it's own. At this point I'm starting to panic, it's snowing hard, the cars in the next lanes over are cruising by and I'm not sure if I can even pull my car off the road or what....I call Aaron, he recommends I get off the interstate...but "how" I wonder. After about 10 minutes of watching cars wiz by and many prayers I pull into the lane and drive past I-94 and get off at the next exit...the car starts acting stranger and stranger so I end up pulling off on a side street near Wayne State Campus. Here I call Aaron again, he calls our mechanic while I call AAA insurance (funny that just last month we were debating whether this insurance was worth it!). After several phone calls and tears all is arranged and I just need to wait for Aaron...who, the wonderful guy that he is, called a good friend of mine who lives on campus to come sit with me till he gets there. So Kendria showed up and we chatted while waiting for the tow truck and Aaron.
All in All, it turned out fine, Thank the Lord I was able to get off the interstate...Aaron had worked night shift...so he was available when this all happened. I was on Wayne State Campus, and thus a safe part of Detroit and Kendria just happened to be out of class and willing to come over. Amazing how God takes care of us isn't it. So even though my car is officially "dead" and we're looking for a "new" car, it can be fixed right? So many others are facing situations in life that can't be "fixed" as we would like. Guess we do have to Thank the Lord for each day He gives us and each little gift of grace.
Missing you all in Michigan
Bekah

An excerpt from Lisa's journal...

I cut-and-pasted a part of Lisa's journal entry from today. Just thought you might like to hear her amazing words and feelings...

So how do I pray and what do I hope? Well, I hope that this works, however, God knows best and I have to trust Him. If it is my time to go, Heaven sounds comforting and restful. You see, I am tired of fighting, tired of the struggle, tired of the ups and the downs, tired of this world. But you also see, I have family and friends here that I do not want to leave. After losing Micah I realized how bad it hurts to lose someone close. I don't want my friends and family to hurt because of me. I have events that I want to be here for. Lots I would still like to do and places I would still like to see. And the dying part - well what is it like to die? Would I go slowly or quickly? Would I hurt?
Is all hope gone? NO! Dr. Gingrich says he has seen this work before, and hopes it works now. Me, I hope for a little longer life, however, like I said, I am weary and tired of the fight so Heaven looks good too. My heart is heavy. I am a worrier and I dread getting sick again and wonder how bad I will get. Then will I get better or not? Oh, the questions and the tears. Then I question my life, have I lived a good enough life, I should have read and prayed more, and done more for others, etc. Oh, round and round my mind goes. I cry and cry and then laugh and then cry some more. I just can't seem to to get myself under control.
Yes, I am hopeful and realize that God can heal me anytime with or without the Dr. help. I am hoping for good results for the donor T-cells (they gave them to me yesterday and they take about 2 weeks to take affect) and that we will be rejoicing in the miracle of recovery. But God is facing me to really look at my life and saying "are you really ready to come if I call you?" Oh, and there is a little boy in Heaven standing by the gate, jumping up and down, waiting for me and cheering me on through the rest of my days here. How I long to hold Micah.
Please pray that God's ultimate will be done. That's all I really want is His will. But I need courage through this all. I need strength and peace and comfort. Please pray and help hold me up no matter come what may. God bless you.

Please Pray!

Hi, fam! (if there's anyone out there) =) I am asking for some prayers on behalf of my friend, Lisa, who had Leukemia and lost their 6 mo old 1.5 years ago. She had a biopsy yesterday, and the Leukemia is back. She is not a candidate for another transplant, and they won't give her any more chemo, either. (her body didn't take it well the other times) They have given her more blast cells (i think those are the donor cells), as a final attempt to kick this. They feel that this is the last option they have. The Dr told her he has seen it work before, so don't give up hope yet. But clearly they are devastated, and now all they can do is wait about 2 1/2 weeks to see if things improve. She said today that Byron is really broken over this. He has been so strong through all of their trials, and He's just now realizing that he could loose her too. If you could read her journal entries on her web site... I just cry. She has almost given up, as she can just picture Micah at Heaven's gates jumping up and down...ready to welcome her. But yet she knows her family and friends will grieve, and she doesn't want them to go through that, either. It has really hit me hard today, the realization of how serious this is, and I just can't imagine all their emotions right now. So these next 2 weeks are going to be terribly long for them, so any time you think of them, lift them up to our Father in prayer. Thanks...love you all! Kristy

Queen's Cottage here we come!!

May 4th - 6th is the date! Soon this kitchen and this table will be full of Hoffmann cousins & memories!! I can't wait...Going through these pictures brought back some great memories! =) I have the queen's cottage reserved, and am holding off on getting the 'pea princess' with it as I will loose 5% if we have to cancel it! So, I wanted to make sure everyone can come before I book both! They are giving us 10% off if we book both, so here's the totals: Just Queen's Cottage: $1070 Total - 2 nights & taxes. Queens & Pea Princess: $1550 Total. SO: divided by 18 (let's say everyone can come) that's $86 / person (for both nights - $ 172 per couple)

Hope I didn't loose you...let us know if you can make it! I know it's 4 months away, but I wanted to make sure it didn't get booked. It's really the only house(s) there that fits our clan well! I'm hoping we have better weather this time...

Love you all! Kristy

Virginia

We went to my cousin Sally's wedding in Virginia this last weekend (see Aaron's blog). We had a wonderful time touring the city of Richmond (well on Sat morning) and then visiting some amazing plantations on the James River. Enjoy the pics!

Happy New Year 2007!

Just a few pics from our family Christmas. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New year. We love you!




Our First Christmas!

Christmas joys...

Here are my beauties! Leslie MADE these dress up outfits and accessories (earrings, hair clip, and necklace). . . isn't she amazing - they are even cooler in real life! Rae didn't know what to think at first! :) The other pictures are on our Christmas while watching a Christmas movie. Oh, the simple joys of life!!

Hoffmann Christmas

Hello all! Thought you'd enjoy the Christmas picture! Wasn't the evening great? Hope you all are continuing to enjoy the Christmas season. Our home will be celebrating Christmas on the 23rd. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the kids and grandkids. We love you guys and wish you a blessed Christmas! Aunt Bonnie

And a few more...

Best Buds :)














Help!! I'm stuck!

It worked this time!

Great to be with everyone again!

Well, it was so great to be with everyone again this weekend! We didn't get to say good-bye to the Gerber's, so 'Bye', and Seth...good to see you again!! Take care and we will continue praying for you & the work God is doing through you in the lives of those boys! Well, here's a couple fun pictures from Saturday! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!! Love you all! Kristy

OK...the pictures will come another day...for some reason it won't let me download any pictures?!? Gotta love these computer's! =)

Meet Crazy Maisie!

Hey gals-
Thought I would give you an update on our cat situation. I did end up going to Ohio last Monday and picked up another Selkirk Rex. She is so cute and hilarious. We just love her! However, our POOR Christmas tree does not have the same feelings towards her. She can climb to the 3rd layer of the tree, chews on the lights, tears the ribbon off, and can jump atleast a couple of feet to knock the bulbs off. Needless to say, our tree looks hideous. I actually thought about taking it down, but thought that would not be spreading Chirstmas cheer! Maisie has brought me so much joy, she is the perfect Christmas present. Leah said she looks like an owl. Its kind of true, but I told her she better not say stuff like that when we have kids(o: Pictures our compliments of our friend Jenna Stoller who has a good camera and came over to do a photo shoot of Maisie. (We left our camera in Illinois at Thanksgiving!) Looking forward to seeing all of you this weekend. Love ya Sarah

Cute Pic's!

Rebekah, those pictures are too cute. Looks like they wore their daddy out. :) Can you guys believe in just 1 week we'll all be together for Christmas?!? It's so exciting, but hard to believe! Not too much excitment around here lately...just the same old routine. Hope everyone's doing well & healthy! Well, I thought I'd post a picture from our "Christmas picture takings'. Josiah found something pretty funny... I don't remember what it was. Kelsey looks like she has chicken pox in our picture. They're actually scabs...from mosquito bites she scratched over & over. Well, see you all on Saturday!!! Love you, Kristy

Fun in the Snow!!!

Hi Girls! I haven't posted in awhile. I thought you might enjoy some new pictures. On Friday I.S.U. cancelled classes for the day because of the snow. So, Matt and I took the kids outside and we pulled them around in a sled. They LOVED it! It was so fun! Afterwards, Josh's cheeks were so red I was afraid maybe he had gotten frostbitten. Darci and Matt enjoyed cuddling on the couch together.

Things have been pretty good here. Matt is finishing up classes...which is stressing him about a bit. He's got a very tough class that's been a headache this semester.

The kids both threwup this week and we don't know if each time they were choking on something or if it was a mild case of the flu. Who knows...I'm just glad it's over. WEll, It was so fun to be with you guys over Thanksgiving. WE are looking forward to Christmas!
Love, Rebekah


 

Davis...

Hi all-
At Thanksgiving, I am sure most of you heard me boasting about our new 10month cat, Davis. Anyway, this past Wednesday, we took him to the vet b/c we noticed he was breathing hard. We thought he had a cold or something. The vet ran tests and told me he'd call me back later with an update. Well, after a loooonnnngggg afternoon, Dr. Honegger called me back and said he wasn't doing well and would have to keep Davis for 1 or 2 nights to get tests back from the lab. 6pm Wednesday Doc called back again to tell us he had really gotten bad and suggests we put him "down". We really didn't have a choice b/c we knew it wouldn't be a smart finiancial move to keep him alive- and -it wasn't fair to Davis. We were really sad! Doc told us later that Davis had a heart condition. Totally a freak thing! He said Davis would have died any time at our house. We are so thankful he was at the vet. I had a REALLY rough Wed. and Thurs., but I am doing better. We really fell in love with the Selkirk Rex Breed, so I am driving to Ohio tomorrow to look for a new Selkirk cat or kitten. We'll see! Sorry to bore you all, but I know the animal lovers can relate! Hope you all have a great week! Loveya, Sarah

Newest Picture of Hudson

Here he is 1 month old! The others he was 5 days old! I love him so much!

guest entry!

Whoops! I think I just published a blank blog. It has been a long time since I've joined in on the fun so I decided I'm more of a guest than a part. Hopefully that will change! :) Things are going good here. We just got our updated photo of Hudson yesterday, which definately brightened up my day!! Right now we are discussing changing his name to Hudson Fernando as opposed to Hudson David. Fernando is his given name (by his birth mother). But David is after Clint. I like both but don't know which Hudson would appreciate more. I'm not big on naming him 2 middle names either. I need to talk more with Clint. We still have time - hopefully not to much time though! :) Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?? Right now my biggest prayer request is that the DNA testing will go good. This week they are scheduling it. We just want the DNA to match the birthmother otherwise all will be up in the air. This is unlikely that the DNA would not match - we just heard of a situation a couple months back where this happened and found out the baby was a stolen baby! They lost the referral and the attorneys started looking for the real birthmother. They are actually now going to get her again because the birth mother was either never found or relinquished her rights - regardless it is a messy situation. Again, I don't expect this yet it could happen. ALL this to say - please pray that all goes smoothly, that the Margarita (his birth mother) will feel God's peace and comfort, and that she will do all she can to keep the process moving swiftly. She will sign off several times during this process. I feel very vulnerable during this process yet feel so blessed that God has called us to this and has given us our most precious Hudson! God is SO GOOD! I love you all.

Jami

guest entry! :)

To Denver and Back

Thanks for putting all those pics on ladies...they're so fun to see...and I feel like our blog is back to the good old days....of something atleast every couple days.
Aaron and I made is safely back home after many adventures on the road...yes my picture here is not in Colorado (can you tell?) It's actually at the old Kaufmann farmstead in Cissna.
Aaron and I had a wonderful time spending time with his family in Kansas and visiting his alma mater K-State. Denver was beautiful, sunny, and in the 50-60s. The hospital is very impressive and we had a fun time with the residents when we went out to eat....but as we so thoroughly realized in our drive...it's a LOOOOOONG way from home. We then visited Cissna Park with the Detroit choir and I showed Aaron all my old haunts, drove him by the Hoffmann place and around good ol' CP. We're heading to interview this weekend in Chicago (one on Friday and one on Monday). We keep praying that one school will stand above the rest. Thanks for all your prayers.
Booxy
ps check out Aarons blog for some entertaining stories about our trip.

Little Chasers....

Hey all,
Last weekend we had the pleasure of having the Jeff Sauder's in Bluffton! Jeff came out to attend Finding Freedom w/ Klint & Dad and Chelby and little Chase came along and hung out with Leah, Mom & me. We had alot of fun! Chase is getting soo big and loved playing "chef" with mom's kitchen toys. Don't you think that he looks so cute in that apron? Can you believe I used to wear that? Anyway, thanks Sauder's for coming out! Hope you all have a great weekend!
Love, Sarah